All posts tagged ‘Reading With: Marvel Comics Close-Up’

Guess who’s making his apperance this season? \ Image: Courtesy of Marvel

The Ultimate Spider-Man is one of our family’s favorite shows and, thankfully, the new season is right around the corner. This season promises to be packed full of new adventures and villains, and special appearances by members of the Avengers.

Also beginning this Monday is the “Marvel Comics Close-Up” initiative. a new program to champion children’s literacy through Marvel comic book storytelling.

I was given an exclusive interview with Cort Lane, Supervising Producer of the Ultimate Spider-Man series, to get his insight into this season as well as get his thoughts on children’s literacy and the new program, which is backed by Disney XD, Marvel Entertainment and First Book.

GeekMom: To start, lets talk about Peter Parker. He was trained in the first season, but where does his character start emotionally at the beginning of the new season and does that change throughout?

Cort Lane: I think there is an emotional arc that is even greater and more challenging for him in the second season. He’s training to be a better hero in the first season. In the second season, he’s learned a lot, but now he is taking on new responsibilities. Nick Fury challenged him to take on a lot of responsibility and become a better hero in season one, and in season two Peter takes on new responsibility on his own.

He takes on responsibility for his team mates and he’s also taking on the responsibility to be their leader, it’s not an easy fit for him.

Being a leader doesn’t come naturally because he’s a loner. He’s also a teenager, so he makes mistakes. That’s a big emotional burden on him.

He’s also taking responsibility to help two friends that are very connected to Spider-Man. He wants to help Harry and save Norman Osborn from being the Green Goblin and he works towards that in the new season. His buddy and mentor from S.H.I.E.L.D, Curt Connors, becomes the Lizard in the first episode of the season and Peter has this intense need to do what he can to not only help stop the Lizard but cure him and get Curt Connors back to the friend that he needs.

We temper that with the usual Spidey quips and gags to make it light and humorous for kids, but he has some big challenges.

GM: After the destruction of the helicarrier in the last season, I’m guessing the rest of the team might feel a little displaced. Will we get to see them adjusting to living with Peter and some of the challenges they face living dual identities with Aunt May?

CL: Yea and we get to learn the origins of each of his team mates, in special stories that run throughout the season. This is still the Spider-Man show, so it’s still focused on him, but he is going to learn a lot about his team mates and through that we get to see how they got their powers, where their families are and it links to all aspects of the Marvel universe.

There are some surprising links between Nova and White Tiger to other Marvel Universe characters.